Tuesday, May 31, 2011

City Council candidates for Ward 2 Cory Storch and Tony Rucker, as well as the candidates for the Wards 1/4 at-large seat,Vera Greaves and Dee Dameron, have been invited to participate in a candidate forum this evening, sponsored by the Friends of Sleepy Hollow (FOSH) and Hillside Area Neighborhood Watch (HANW).

Monday, May 30, 2011

The Grand Army of the Republic bivouac at Hillside Cemetery is the final resting place of several Plainfield African American veterans of the Civil War.

The bivouac is a quiet, calming space, well-suited to meditating on the sacrifices of both those who served their country and those who have fallen in its defense.

The 22nd Regiment was particularly noted for its bravery and was honored by being among the first Union troops sent into Richmond upon its fall, as well as accompanying the fallen President Lincoln's funeral procession in Washington.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

The new site acknowledges the twin aspects of the District by billing it as a 'celebration of diversity and architectural heritage'.

Van Wyck Brooks has been able to thrive even when several other districts' homeowner organizations have become mostly dormant, owing in large part to its social activities as well as promoting preservation and restoration of its unique architectural heritage. (Just think of the annual Twelfth Night Progressive Dinner, which is always sold out.)

The new site features sections on news and events (where last weekend's refreshing of the District's 42 planters is highlighted) plus a photo gallery of activities.

A section on 'current renovations' has an article and checklist for use BEFORE undertaking renovations that is useful for residents of all the city's historic districts, including a list of City Hall phone numbers and links to useful information and organizations.

Plans are to include sections on completed renovations as well as listings of local businesses.

Congratulations to the District and the team of volunteers who put the site together.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Several Plainfield Today readers have mentioned the disparity between the campaign signs of Tony Rucker and his running mates Assemblyman Jerry Green and Councilor Vera Greaves.

If you note above, Jerry's and Vera's signs have a consistent look, while Rucker's stands in contrast.

Hmmm. Why's that?

Is it a sign of that 'independence' from Jerry that his supporters claim? (See the comments on my blog post yesterday from Rucker supporters here.)

I was curious about that sign, and happened to catch some snaps yesterday on Belvidere Avenue in front of the home of the late Dr. Gerald Lee, one of Assemblyman Green's first appointments to the PMUA board.

Here are the pix.

The '7' looked a little odd.

Odd indeed! What's that about?

Here's what the other side looks like.

The '7' in the date caught my eye, because it was a bit wimpish in comparison to the rest of the text. Turns out it is taped over something else.

The other side of the sign revealed what the 'something else' is -- June 5.

Could the Rucker/Greaves/Green team have gotten the date right on two of their signs, but not the third? Did Jerry not check them before letting them be put out?

Is there another possibility?

How about this: Primary Day in Rucker's previous challenge of Storch was TUESDAY, JUNE 5, 2007.

Rucker ignores Eke's proposal, leaving voters to wonder just where he stands on the matter of the PMUA; yes, we know it's expensive and needs reforming, but what is RUCKER going to do about it?

A careful reading (or two, or three) of Rucker's post can be helpful for those who have not yet made up their mind about who they will vote for June 7. First to see how clueless Rucker is about how city government really works and what the Council's role is.

But, more importantly for what Rucker leaves unsaid: that Rucker and his running mate Councilor Vera Greaves are Jerry's team, with all that implies.
Why doesn't Rucker declare his pride in being part of Assemblyman Green's handpicked team?

Here's a scenario for you.

Suppose Rucker and Greaves are elected and there is a proposal to dissolve the PMUA.

That would have to be done by an ORDINANCE, and could be passed by four votes. Would Rucker and Greaves vote to dissolve the PMUA?

If they did, Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs, that other handpicked Green teammate, would VETO it.

Overturning the veto would require FIVE votes, not just four. How would Rucker be accountable, avoid gridlock, and get the PMUA dissolved?

Or would he?

After all, being a part of 'the Green team' means following The Boss' lead.

And where does Jerry stand on the PMUA?

A NOTE ON COMMENTS: Your comments are valued, as always, but for the duration of the political campaign season I am turning off the 'anonymous' comments. This means only those who use an identity will be posted. If thousands of folks are being asked to consider voting for this or that candidate, I think the reader should know who is doing the advocating. Fair enough?

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Mr. Eke had no problems with New Democrats when Al McWilliams
was mayor, as shown here at the 2000 Ethfest.

Charles Eke, whom the Plainfield City Council declined to confirm to a seat as a PMUA commissioner after his nomination by Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs, has a letter to the editor in today's Courier attacking Cory Storch and endorsing Storch's opponent in the Democratic primary (see here).

I am rubbing my eyes with disbelief!

Is this the same Charles Eke who, as Mayor Robinson-Briggs' nominee for a PMUA commissioner's seat, came before the Council and in his public interview had NOTHING NEGATIVE TO SAY ABOUT THE PMUA (see Bernice's report in Plaintalker II here)? The record shows that Rev. Tracey Brown was the ONLY nominee who offered to look at the PMUA with a critical eye.

Is this the same Charles Eke who would have been eligible, as a Commissioner, for health benefits FOR HIMSELF AND HIS FAMILY and made no offer to forego same if appointed?

Is this the same Charles Eke whom I have never seen at a Council meeting except when his nomination was on the agenda for the evening? Whom I have never seen at a PMUA Commissioners meeting ever?

Is this the same Charles Eke who, after failing to be appointed, came to the February Council meeting to harangue the Council over his rejection, labeling those who failed to vote for him as 'unfit for public office' (see Bernice's report here).

Not only is this the same Charles Eke, he displays a level of ignorance about the Council's role which only confirms their sound judgment in not appointing him. Eke proposes --

...[t]he City Council could have taken bold steps towards reform of the PMUA. They could have put out the entire city's garbage collection out to bid. Let Waste Management, let Grand Sanitation and other garbage collection companies bid on this work. Let the PMUA bid on this work and may the best company win.That is the way I would have done it. That is the way any sound businessman would have done it. It's very clear...

Eke completely misunderstands the Council's power.

The Council has no authority whatsoever, given the agreement that established the PMUA, to 'put the city's garbage collection out to bid'.

It has jawboned the PMUA to no visible effect.

It can dissolve the PMUA agreement, but would need some findings of fact to do so -- which the task force to which Eke objects could report back to the Council as findings.

Eke only shows what an ignorant and foolhardy appointee he would have been.

As for Eke's endorsement of Storch's challenger, Tony Rucker, if Rucker doesn't publicly object to this idiotic proposal, you should chalk it up as one more reason to vote for Storch.

P.S.: In the 2009 City Committee races, in which Eke ran for a District seat against New Dem Kieran Anderson, he was beaten 127-23. Can this have anything to do with his antagonism toward the New Dems?

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Plainfield High School's auditorium will be the venue Saturday afternoon for an event in support of a Youth Resource Center for the community.

Sponsors of the event are Giving Initiatives and Alternatives, Inc., an Atlanta-based nonprofit (more here), and Plainfield Against Killing (see more here).

According to the Plainfield Against Killing website, planning for the event got under way this past December at the urging of Abdul Karriem Muhammad (known to many as longtime community activist Linward Cathcart), and includes the following objectives --

1) To increase security in the City of Plainfield by coordinating and urging business owners in troubled areas to pool resources to hire police officers to patrol during late hours.

2) To form additional security teams made up of residents who would be responsible for patrolling their own areas.

3) To gain control of or partner with a facility to operate a Community Resource Center that would cater to some of the social needs of the community including counseling services, food for the needy, job training and job placement.

4) To form a Counsel of Elders that would act to resolve issues that affect the community.

5) To have black history courses incorporated into the elementary schools as a regular part of the curriculum.

6) To remain NON-POLITICAL and to perform our tasks for the community because of genuine concern and responsibility.

7) To establish a "no questions asked" gun turn in program with incentives for those turning in guns.

More than fifty participants have been invited to give brief (3-5 minutes each) remarks, and many are already confirmed, including Karriem Muhammad, City Council President Annie McWilliams, and Board of Ed President Renata Hernandez, as well as Gloria Taylor (widow of the late mayor Rick Taylor), activist Roland Muhammad, POP founder Larry Hamm, and many others. Lenny Cathcart, youth advocate and former Board of Ed member, will emcee the afternoon's event. Plainfield Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs is listed as invited, though not yet confirmed.

After a break from 3:00 to 3:30 PM to visit vendor booths, participants will be treated to a closing segment featuring more than twenty local groups and individual artists.

The website says the event is being organized 'to express our concerns over the violence and to provide solutions to some of the problems'.

While it looks like great care was taken to involve broad segments of the community, there are some omissions that strike me as non-inclusive:

Latino outreach seems severely limited given the number of individuals and groups active in the community;

No mention is made of one of our great community activists, former Council member Joann Hollis; and

Only one of the city's two thriving youth baseball leagues is mentioned.

That said, the event should be a good start to rally support for the group's long-rage goal of a Youth Resource Center.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Plainfield Today readers may think that the legislative race pitting incumbent Union County Sen. Ray Lesniak against an upstart challenger team including heavy hitters in Elizabeth school board politics has little to do with Plainfield.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Longtime king-of-the-hill Lesniak's law firm has a reputation for obtaining lucrative -- some would say rapaciously lucrative -- contracts from the Dem towns in sway to the Union County heavyweight.

(When Al McWilliams came into the mayor's office in 1998, Plainfield was looking at an $800,000 tab with Lesniak's firm. McWilliams refused to pay and eventually haggled it down to less than $200,000.)

The number of applicants coming before Plainfield's zoning and planning boards in recent years that use Lesniak's law firm would seem to defy the law of averages -- even though the Senator, who in the past supported Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs' election said publicly he did not want any contracts with the City.

Now, a group opposing Lesniak and grounded in the 'other' Elizabeth machine -- the Elizabeth Board of Ed -- is coming under heavy attack as the primary campaign enters the home stretch.

The Star-Ledger featured a heavily-researched story on the Elizabeth school board's 'machine' in the banner front-page position in Sunday's edition (the most heavily-read issue each week), raising the question in my mind of whether it is a cat's-paw in Lesniak's game.

I find several things intriguing in the timing and placement of the story.

First, why didn't the Ledger do a beat-down back in April, when it was the SCHOOL BOARD that was up for grabs?

Second, every complaint in the story could repeated against the Union County Democratic machine, over which Sen. Lesniak exerts significant -- if not overwhelming -- control. But the Ledger has never run a similar story portraying Lesniak in an unflattering light as far as I an recall.

Things began to heat up earlier this month when PolitickerNJ noted that the state's teachers union, NJEA, was poised to endorse a split ticket in the race, picking Dunn over Lesniak (see here). At the time, PolitickerNJ included Lesniak's calling in of a chit from former President Bill Clinton by way of an endorsement in the current race.

On May 16th, PolitickerNJ found the upstarts had turned the tables on Lesniak, portraying him as 'living like a Republican' in a campaign mailing, as he had done of them in a previous campaign (see here).

By last Thursday, PolitickerNJ reported on questions about ELEC (the Election Law Enforcement Commission) filings, questioning where the challengers were getting the money for their mailing blitz (see here), fueled by a Lesniak complaint as it later turns out.

Then Sunday comes the unflattering front-page Ledger story on Elizabeth school system politics.

And today, PolitickerNJ reports Union County Superior Court Judge William Wertheimer has frozen the challengers' accounts until a hearing on June 3 (the election is June 7) -- see that story here.

Though the challengers were able to report the NJEA's endorsement at a Saturday fundraiser at The Pines in Edison, earlier in the day the Elizabeth police arrived at a community pizza party in support of the anti-Lesniak team at a park in the Elmora section and shut it down.

All of this just goes to show that politics in New Jersey is indeed a blood sport, as anyone in Plainfield can tell you.

But I am troubled that the Ledger, which should be above the fray, looks so much like just one more arrow in the Lesniak quiver.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

The Latin American Coalition helping raise funds to return slain man's body
to his native Honduras.

Family members of Julio Matute, Plainfield's seventh homicide victim of 2011, will receive friends and wellwishers this evening at the Salvation Army's Plainfield Citadel.

Flor Gonzalez, president of the Latin American Coalition, is working with family members to try and return the body to Honduras for burial.

Contributions may be made payable to 'Latin American Coalition', with a memo for 'Matute funeral', and dropped off at the visitation this evening or mailed or dropped off at the Latin American Coalition, 410 Watchung Avenue.

Six gracious Plainfield homes will be showcased Sunday in the United Way of Greater Union County's third annual 'Maidens In May' house tour and the annual FOSH Garage Sale will wind up (9 AM -- 4 PM, Fernwood Avenue is a good place to start).

Besides homes of historic and architectural significance, the tour includes the Drake House Museum, managed for the city by the Historical Society of Plainfield and Grace Episcopal Church, which is on the national registry of landmarked properties.

As with previous years, the event's proceeds will be used to aid medical transportation for the Plainfield area, including both the Plainfield Rescue Squad and the Neighborhood Health Services Corporation.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Six gracious Plainfield homes will be showcased Sunday in the United Way of Greater Union County's third annual 'Maidens In May' house tour.

Besides homes of historic and architectural significance, the tour includes the Drake House Museum, managed for the city by the Historical Society of Plainfield and Grace Episcopal Church, which is on the national registry of landmarked properties.

As with previous years, the event's proceeds will be used to aid medical transportation for the Plainfield area, including both the Plainfield Rescue Squad and the Neighborhood Health Services Corporation.

Plainfield's annual monster event is upon us -- the annual FOSH (Friend of Sleepy Hollow) Yard Sale is this weekend, Saturday AND Sunday. (The 'Maidens In May' house tour is Sunday -- see separate post.)

The FOSH event draws thousands of eager bargain-hunters to Plainfield each year. The sale is from 9 AM - 4 PM both days, offering some of the best 'stuff' in New Jersey. The best place to start is along Watchung Avenue -- just look for balloons. Maps of participating homes are available at each location.

In addition, a number of other yard sale opportunities with SPECIAL EMPHASES --

Friday, May 20, 2011

There are many in the Plainfield Police Division who regard the elimination of the Chief of Police position and its replacement with Martin Hellwig as Police Director as the politicization of the police division.

Discontent with Hellwig's leadership (or, as some complain, lack of it) now appears to be breaking into the open.

Last night, I was besieged with reports of Hellwig's rumored resignation, supposedly after hours Thursday. Though checking with many sources, I was unable to confirm it as more than a rumor.

This morning, I am told, there were so many calls to the Division about the rumor that the Mayor's office was called to confirm that it was indeed just a rumor.

Add to that that the Director's parking space was said to be marked off by yellow crime scene tape, and it appears the conflict is pretty much out in the open.

One has to wonder if Hellwig's ability to effectively lead the Division is being compromised and whether the Prosecutor may have to step in to guarantee effective police operations for the citizens of Plainfield.

Council President Annie McWiliams endorses Storch and Dameron for Council.

Before a room full of New Democrats for Plainfield candidates for the Democratic City Committee and their supporters, Plainfield City Council President Annie McWilliams endorsed the group's City Council candidates -- Cory Storch, who is running for re-election as Ward 2 Councilor, and 'Dee' Dameron, running for the Wards 1/4 at-large seat (read the endorsement on her blog here).

Thursday evening's 'friendraiser' event highlighted the 55 candidates running for seats on the Democratic City Committee.

McWilliams lauded the candidates as bringing the kind of 'independent and balanced judgment' and 'honest and ethical leadership' for the challenges the city and the City Council face.

Plainfield's annual monster event is upon us -- the annual FOSH (Friend of Sleepy Hollow) Yard Sale is this weekend, Saturday AND Sunday. (The 'Maidens In May' house tour is Sunday -- see separate post.)

The FOSH event draws thousands of eager bargain-hunters to Plainfield each year. The sale is from 9 AM - 4 PM both days, offering some of the best 'stuff' in New Jersey. The best place to start is along Watchung Avenue -- just look for balloons. Maps of participating homes are available at each location.

In addition, a number of other yard sale opportunities with SPECIAL EMPHASES --

Thursday, May 19, 2011

New Democrats for Plainfield will host a 'friendraiser' at its Watchung Avenue headquarters this evening, to which all are invited, according to chairperson Adrian Mapp.

The event provides an opportunity to mix and mingle with the slate's candidates for City Council and the Democratic City Committee as well as to make a campaign contribution, Mapp continued.

City Council candidates Cory Storch, running for re-election to the Ward 2 seat, and 'Dee' Dameron, first-time candidate for the Wards 1/4 at-large seat will be on hand, as well as the organization's 55 candidates for the Democratic City Committee.

Candidates for City Council and Democratic City Committee.

Councilor Rebecca Williams, who is managing Storch's campaign and former Board of Ed member Dr. Inez Durham, who is managing Dameron's campaign said they are looking forward to the event which will energize supporters in the final two-week runup to the Primary election on June 7.

Mapp said an important endorsement of the candidates will be made at the event.

New Dem campaign signs will be a familiar sight over the next few weeks.

New Democrats for Plainfield
FRIENDRAISER EVENT

Thursday · May 19 · 6 - 9 PM

New Democrats Headquarters
508 Watchung Avenue
(Across from City Hall, between Blackberry's and City Hall Annex)

Plainfield resident since 1983. Retired as the city's Public Information Officer in 2006; prior to that Community Programs Coordinator for the Plainfield Public Library. Founding member and past president of: Faith, Bricks & Mortar; Residents Supporting Victorian Plainfield; and PCO (the outreach nonprofit of Grace Episcopal Church). Supporter of the Library, Symphony and Historic Society as well as other community groups, and active in Democratic politics.